Toward the end of June my sister and I took the train (or perhaps a bus to Rome and then the train) from Perugia to Tropea in Calabria with a stopover for a few hours in Naples. We got to our primitive, no running water bungalow complex (with a shared bathroom with running water that the several bungalows shared) in the late evening. By morning the allergies that had been plaguing me since soon after coming to Perugia were gone thanks to the fresh sea air.
We spent about a week in Tropea. We would go down to the beach in the mornings and late afternoons and enjoy the fairly warm water. I think the highlight of our time there was that we met 4 really nice Italian guys from Tuscany who were also staying in the bungalows. One was in the carabineros, the customs police. One day all six of us went into Reggio Caliabria for the day, and I remember finding an out of the way trattoria somewhere out of town along the road and the 4 guys and I were really hungry and at least some of us ordered two dinners each. The owner had no idea what ketchup was (I think I asked for it to go with my steak), a pretty good sign, and he was amazed at how much we ate.
Another time I remember a delicious meal served by the people who ran the bungalow complex, for a modest extra price. Looking back I wonder why we didn't do that every time. Our new Italian friends didn't speak English but my sister would translate for me and I enjoyed my time hanging out with them mostly on the beach. She stayed in contact with them, and introduced them to her Swiss roommate who had could have been a fashion model, and the guy in the carabineros really fell for her and ended up proposing marriage to her which she didn't accept however. He struck me as a really stand-up guy, very classy.
Alas, all good things must come to an end and it was time to improve my Spanish. We took a first class train to Rome (the whole train was first class, all airconditioned, express etc, don't remember how much extra it was. In Rome I split up from my sister and it was on my way to Madrid. That night my train travelled up Italy and by morning we were in France. The train ride thru the French Riviera was memorable, and I had one of those "why don't I just get off here and spend the summer her instead" moments. The towns looked so beautiful, it was a lovely day, and it seemed that every young French woman around my age or a little older getting on or off the train was stunningly beautiful, with dark hair and lovely features. (ah, to be 17 again).
At some point I transferred trains, not sure where, perhaps Narbonne. I reached Barcelona by evening, and then transferred one more time and the next night was on to Madrid. I don't remember sleeping much at all for the two nights, but being young and excited about everything don't remember being wiped out either.
Finally, about 48 hours after leaving Tropea and southern Italy I was in Madrid. Part three will cover my time there.
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